Homestead Advisers Corp Has $37.91 Million Holdings in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Homestead Advisers Corp raised its stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 14.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 408,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 51,500 shares during the quarter. Homestead Advisers Corp’s holdings in TransUnion were worth $37,909,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of TRU. FMR LLC grew its holdings in TransUnion by 307.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,540,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $475,432,000 after acquiring an additional 3,427,199 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of TransUnion by 30.6% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,370,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $312,501,000 after acquiring an additional 789,497 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of TransUnion by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,426,510 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $463,456,000 after purchasing an additional 635,581 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in TransUnion by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,139,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $476,493,000 after acquiring an additional 356,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its position in TransUnion by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,346,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $121,345,000 after purchasing an additional 294,549 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on TRU. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TransUnion has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.08.

TransUnion Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TRU opened at $85.71 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.32. TransUnion has a twelve month low of $66.07 and a twelve month high of $113.17. The company has a market capitalization of $16.72 billion, a PE ratio of 58.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.14). TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. This is a positive change from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.51%.

TransUnion declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total value of $174,342.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,095,112.82. This represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total value of $95,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,488 shares in the company, valued at $5,611,923.60. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $383,041 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

TransUnion Profile

TransUnion operates as a global consumer credit reporting agency that provides risk and information solutions. The company operates through U.S. Markets, International, and Consumer Interactive segments. The U.S. Markets segment provides consumer reports, actionable insights, and analytic services to businesses, which uses its services to acquire new customers; assess consumer ability to pay for services; identify cross-selling opportunities; measure and manage debt portfolio risk; collect debt; verify consumer identities; and mitigate fraud risk.